Solar World: Desperately seeking silicon

In a world of silicon scarcity, many solar energy companies are trying to find ways to stretch, cut back on, or even cut out the traditional photovoltaic panel’s main ingredient.

Solar companies from around the world met in Dresden, Germany, this week at the 21st annual European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, where several announced innovations that would allow panel makers to increase their production capacity.

Midland, Mich.-based silicon maker Dow Corning unveiled PV 1101 — a feedstock material that can be blended with solar-grade silicon to stretch the dwindling supply.

“It is expected that polysilicon consumption by the solar industry will exceed that of the semiconductor industry for the first time this year or next. So, Dow Corning’s PV 1101 will have a significant impact on the solar industry,” the company’s senior director of the semiconductor practice, Vincent Mayeda, wrote to United Press International in an e-mail.

UPI